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A sad ending for deported adoptee

By You Soo-sun

A deported Korean-American adoptee was found dead in an apparent suicide in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, officials said.

Phillip Clay, 42, was found dead around 11:40 p.m., Sunday, outside an apartment building in Ilsan, according to officials from Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link (G.O.A’.L), a non-governmental organization run by adoptees in Seoul.

While a police investigation is underway, surveillance camera footage reportedly showed he was alone in the elevator when he went up to the 14th floor of the building he jumped from, alluding to suicide.

The funeral was held at Myongji Hospital by Holt Children’s Services Inc in Korea. Around 30 people attended his funeral, including representatives from adoptee organizations such as KoRoot and Adoptee Solidarity Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.